Birdclaw's Story
by shadowyLearner
Summary: Two young kits, Birdkit and Jaykit, were the best of friends and brothers, until their mother forced them to separate. Now, living a different life, Birdkit's has become one almost impossible to live. What happened? Why were him and his brother separated? How can he escape this chaos called his life? (Suck at summaries, sorry. More inside.) [CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.]
1. Prologue

**Hello there and welcome to my story! First things first, this is Birdkit's side of the story; Jaykit's POV is here: s/8893250/1/Jaytail-s-Past and is written by my cousin! :) Now, if they are different, it should be noted that these are our personal versions of the story. They may differ slightly, but the main plot is the same; at least, if the brothers ever meet again, they will be.**

**Thanks,**

**shadowyLearner~**

**I do not own Warriors.**

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IceClan was a Clan known for its brave and loyal warriors. They were tough because of the terrain their territory endured: harsh winds and mild temperatures in the high point of summer. Most of the year, if snow wasn't on at least one part of the territory, then there was at least rain. IceClan cats were also known to be loyal – extremely loyal – and to be brave in battle and life as well. Be it nature or be it nurture, but IceClan was a model Clan in its height.

In its downfall, too, its cats were extremely loyal and brave. Then how did IceClan fall into a downward spiral? Because of one evil, conceited she-cat who was afraid of death. So afraid of death was she, that she took one of her sons, the one who looked the most like her, and raised him to be an exact copy of her, except a male.

When eyes first laid upon the little kit who would grow up to be a demon in his peers' eyes, no one could've thought of what was to come and what he would do in his life.


	2. Chapter 1

**Sorry for the long wait! I've been sick for a while, which is why nothing has really been updated lately. So here you go! Chapter one! If you see any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out. Enjoy! R&R!**

**I do not own Warriors.**

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The two newest kits of IceClan were as close as could be. They were two brothers named Jaykit and Birdkit. Jaykit was a tabby tom who looked almost identical to his father; Birdkit, sticking to the pattern, looked almost exactly like his mother. As first glance, anyone could mistake the kits for their parents.

Jaykit was the more sociable of the two, but he stayed with his brother, who was much more shy and preferred to stay with his brother. The two were practically inseparable.

On this fateful day, the two brothers, almost six moons old, were playing a form of tag.

"Catch me if you can!" Jaykit teased his brother, who was "it."

Birdkit didn't reply in words, but he did speed up, almost catching up to his brother. Their father, Shadowtail, watched nearby. A faint smile was on his face, but he felt certain hollowness inside. He wanted to push both his sons close to him and push their mother and the dangers of life away, but he couldn't. With his heart beginning to ache, he called his sons to him. Stopping their game abruptly, they padded curiously up Shadowtail.

"Jaykit, Birdkit…," started the tom. His voice was weary and heavy, and sadness shone in his eyes. The two young kits noticed this unusual behavior and were slightly unnerved. Jaykit opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, his father resumed. "As you both know, and I wish you two didn't, your mother, Sugleam, and I haven't been getting along very well lately. Well," Shadowtail sighed, "she has decided to go to StormClan, and she wants to take Birdkit with her."

The two kits' eyes grew to enormous sizes. "B-but-!" started Birdkit, starting to shrink into the protection of his brother. A yellow and black she-cat interrupted him. "No 'but's! I have decided to take you with me; don't I know what's good for you, _my_ son?"

Fear rose in the put of Birdkit's stomach. He had felt a coldness coming from his mother since he could realize what it was; he didn't want to go with her, whether she was his mother or not. Yet…why wouldn't she want only the best for him? But then…why wouldn't she take Jaykit too?

"Why can't Jaykit come with us?" whined Birdkit.

Hostility showed in the she-cat's eyes. "_Please_, he _should_ be here. After all, he has a long coat, does he not? And he looks like Shadowtail, who grew up here. You look like me, who came from StormClan when _I_ was still a kit. It's not as bad as you think." Sungleam's eyes softened, or at least they seemed to have done so to Birdkit, and her tone went from sharp to comforting. "I'm taking you home."

"I don't want to go home!" mewed Birdkit, tears surfacing. Shadowtail's heart was being ripped out in front of his eyes; Jaykit was simply speechless. Shadowtail sat beside his two kits and wrapped his tail around them, pushing them closer. "I want you to stay, Birdkit," he began. "Then why do I have to go?" whimpered the young tom. Shadowtail ignored his question and mewed, "Please, for me. You'll see me and your brother again sometime soon, I promise. Just make your mother happy. For me."

So Birdkit left the comfort of his father and brother and walked reluctantly up to his mother. He looked up at her, tears still fresh in his distraught eyes. A small smirk appeared on his mother's face, but her eyes remained comforting. "Thank you. And trust me, you'll see, StormClan's a much better fit for you than cold IceClan."

Birdkit nodded slowly, not wanting to believe what was happening. Sungleam mewed a cold, uncaring goodbye to the two toms she was leaving; Birdkit had no time to say his goodbyes. He padded slowly, trailing, behind his mother; he glanced back a few times, but still didn't say anything.

Tears in his eyes, Shadowtail glanced down at Jaykit. The tabby kit also had tears in his eyes, and yet he was still too speechless to say anything. He did take a step forward, however, and Shadowtail used his tail to stop the kit from darting after his brother.

"Let them go…," he whispered quietly, a powerful ache deep in his chest.

Sungleam glanced down at her son, who was sniffling. "Trust me; StormClan's the best place for you. You wouldn't have fit in there."

Birdkit still said nothing, and he only stared straight ahead, memories rushing in his mind. Finally, he mewed, "I wouldn't have cared. I just want to be with my brother and Shadowtail…"

Sungleam sighed, frustrated. "_Yes_, you would've, if only you knew how that felt. Birdkit, I only want to best for you, so I'm leaving my mate and my other son, all for you. Why can't you appreciate that?"

Doubting that Sungleam was still mates with Shadowtail, Birdkit tried to believe her, he really did, but he just couldn't rid his mind of the coldness he had felt so often emanating from his mother. Still…shouldn't he try to please her? Maybe then she would want him. Maybe then he would be deserving enough, strong enough to block out the pain of being different, to see his brother again. He looked up at the sky, where at night the warriors of StarClan shone. _Can that happen? Could it happen? Please tell me it could…_

Birdkit awoke in the nursery, his paws hurting from the long trek that had been completed the night before. He sat up slowly, and he heard his mother's mew.

"You're to be apprenticed tonight." She said no "good morning" or anything of the sort, only this precious piece of information.

Birdkit jumped suddenly. "Really?" he asked, a little loud.

"Quiet!" hissed Sungleam. "We're not the only cats in here anymore!" It was true; there were two other queens in the nursery as well: a golden she-cat named Honeyfoot and a dark gray she-cat named Flightpelt, whose kits, Snowkit and Berrykit, had been born two sunrises before.

Birdkit shrank down to half his normal size. "Sorry…," he muttered quietly. Then a sudden thought emerged. He lifted his head. "Sungleam? Do you think Jaykit will be apprenticed today, too?"

Sungleam, who was falling back asleep, shrugged. "You can ask him at your first Gathering, assuming both you and him will be there."

Birdkit fell quiet after his mother replied. A moment later, he asked her if he could go outside. "Sure…," she mewed quietly, still mostly asleep.

Birdkit padded out of the den and shrank back from the sudden change in light. His eyes stung as they adjusted to the brightness. When they did change, he looked around the camp, hoping to find something to do. _Jaykit would always play with me in IceClan…_

"Birdkit? May I speak with you?"

The tom looked up to see the leader padding toward him. He tried to puff out his chest and look tougher and bigger than he really was; Greenstar, the StormClan leader, gave a _mrrow _of amusement.

"I take it it's a yes?" Greenstar chuckled, her delight shining in her eyes.

Birdkit nodded, his head proudly raised. "Of course."

Greenstar smiled, sitting in a patch of shade near the edge of the camp. Birdkit followed her over and sat down beside her.

"If Sungleam didn't already tell you…you're going to become an apprentice tonight," she mewed. Birdkit nodded again. "She told me."

The smile stayed on Greenstar as she gazed at the young tom. "I know it's hard to move from one Clan to another, and to tell you the truth, I was surprised myself when Sungleam told me she was going to join. You don't normally hear those kinds of things, even as leader. But things happen…and you're here now." Her expression changed to a serious one. "I just wanted to tell you that you're welcome here. We hold nothing against kits."

"What about apprentices?"

Greenstar let out another _mrrow_ of amusement. "You still came as kit, so no exceptions."

Birdkit nodded. "Good to hear."

"You know," mewed Greenstar, "for a kit, you can act much older than you are. Quite mature already, emotionally, it seems."

Birdkit was unsure of what to say, but he opened his mouth to say something. However, before he could say anything, a voice spoke first.

"Birdkit? Greenstar? What are you gossiping like elders about?" It was Sungleam. "I already told you, Birdkit, that you're to be made an apprentice, didn't I? Why are you wasting your breath to the leader, of all cats?"

"Sungleam..." Greenstar looked up at the she-cat, holding a firm gaze. "I didn't know you already told Birdkit – how could I? So I was making sure the news had gotten around to him. No need for the scolding."

Sungleam's eyes still held firm. "Is that all?"

Birdkit answered, "Yeah!"

"And are you two done with your useless conversation? I have something I'd like to show you, Birdkit. I think you'll like it," finished Sungleam, hostility never once leaving her eyes.

"Sungleam," began Greenstar, "I have matters to discuss with _you_. Come." She walked to the area outside her den.

"Birdkit, go...go do something," ordered Sungleam, following the leader.

_What does Greenstar want with Sungleam?_ wondered Birdkit. He was extremely curious about their conversation, and he had a feeling that something was wrong; worry swirled in the pit of his stomach.

He slid through the shadows silently and into the greenery surrounding the camp. Hiding behind a large bush, he was able to overhear the she-cats' conversation.

"About last night..." began Greenstar, "do you...by any chance...know what happened to Burnpaw or Mudfur?"

"I didn't tell you? Well, just before Birdkit and I arrived to the camp, we noticed two dead bodies; they reeked of rogue. I investigated further, and while doing so, I saw the rogue cat. He had another cat with him, too, but it was a kit. I think he had the kit watch him murder the two cats so that the kit would grow up to slaughter Clan cats too." Sungleam shook her head. "Poor thing. But anyways, the two cats' fur was brown and dark ginger. At least, I think that's what they were, hard to see in the dark."

Greenstar nodded grimly. "They wanted to go out one more time before retiring for the night, so I let them. I only wish I hadn't..."

Sungleam nodded bleakly, a far-off look in her eyes. "I know..." Looking at Greenstar again, she resumed her story. "Spotting them and knowing Birdkit was hiding safely nearby – though the events were probably too much of a shock for him to really remember – I stalked closer to them. But it was too dark for even my adjusted eyes, and by the time I was only a fox-length away, they had disappeared, their coats and quiet nature allowing them to blend in the shadows. I tried following them by scent, but they were smart and I was too exhausted; I kept falling in and out of consciousness." The she-cat shook her head. "I tried, I really did, but they outsmarted me, the little mousebrains."

Greenstar nodded slightly. "I'll be sure to tell Dustwind to increase the patrols. In the meantime, however," she mewed, "we'll need to find Mudfur and Burnpaw's bodies and have a formal ceremony for them. Thank you for trying, Sungleam." The she-cat turned and left.

Birdkit's heart skipped a beat, and he released a breath he did not realize he had been holding. As his mother got up and turned, presumably going to find him, questions and reactions swarmed in the kit's mind.

_He had a kit with him, the cruel monster! How can someone do such a thing! _Disgust rang out in Birdkit's thoughts and a snarl almost appeared on his face. He was sickened by the thought of making a kit watch and learn murder.

Little did he know the fate that awaited him.


End file.
